Protective device



y 1961 R. G. WARREN ETAL 2,986,110 jqil PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed March 18, 1955 g s t s INVENTORS RONALD G. WARREN DAVID COOKE ATT RNEY y 30, 1961 R. G. WARREN ETAL 2,986,110

PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed March 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS RONALD G. WARREN I DAVH) COOKE 1g. 4',

PROTECTIVE DEVICE Ronald'G. Warren, Sharon, and David A. Cooke, Wallingford, Pa., assignors, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Mar. 18, 1955, Ser. No. 495,370

6 Claims. (Cl. 114-24) This invention relates to torpedo protective devices, and particular to an anti-circular run device for preventing a torpedo from attacking the vessel from which it is launched.

Various means have in the past been incorporated in torpedoes to prevent them from inadvertently attacking the 'vessel from which they are launched. One form of such devices, which is particularly useful when torpedoes are launched from submarines, is known as an anti-circular run device. 'In the past, anti-circular run devices operated to stop the propulsion means of the torpedo if the torpedos rudders should stay in a position corresponding to a turn in one direction for more than a predetermined period of time. However, such means are not satisfactory if the speed of the torpedo does not remain substantially contsant, and are particularly ineffective in a torpedo having position proportional rudder controls.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved torpedo protective device for preventing a torpedo from circling to a position from which it may attack the vessel from which it was launched.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a torpedo protective device which is independent of the speed and rudder position of the torpedo and is operative to prevent the torpedo from circling to attack the vessel from which it was launched.

it is a still further object of this invention to provide gyroscopic means for preventing a torpedo from circling to attack the vessel from which it was launched and to provide means for detecting excessive drift of such gyroscopic means.

' It is another object of this invention to provide an improved torpedo protective device which has an anti-circular run gyroscope in addition to the course gyroscope of the torpedo, means for detecting excessive drift of either gyroscope, and means operative to stop the torpedo if the torpedo turns in excess of a given angle or if there excessive drift from the intended course.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a torpedo protective device which is relatively simple to construct and maintain.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig; l is a longitudinal section through the protective device,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a partial section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a schematic wiring diagram.

Referring to Fig. 1, course gyro and anti-circular run gyro 12 are mounted within housing 14, with their outer gimbal axes in alignment and carried within the torpedo in normally vertical attitude. Course gyro 10 is a. conventional two degrees of freedom gyroscope havace Patented May 30, 1961 l 2 I Y ing a rotor 16, an inner gimbal 18 and an outer gimbal 20. Thegimbals are mounted on bearings to minimize friction and the resultant torques which would process rotor 16'. Rotor 16 is driven by an electricmotor and the gyrois provided with conventional caging means, both the motor and caging means being conventional and not illustrated. Synchro generator 22 is the pick-off means of the course gyro and produces an A.C. error signal which, through conventional servo loop means, is used to control the azimuth steering means of a torpedo and cause the torpedo to steer a given course in azimuth. The rotor 24 of generator 22 is mounted on the outer gimbal 20 of gyro '10 and turns with outer gimbal 20; The stator 26 is fixedly mounted in frame 27 which can be oriented relative to housing'14 on bearings 28. Servo motor 30, employed in conventional manner in a servo loop (not shown), by means of gear train 32 and teeth 34 of frame 27 is used to orient frame 27 andstator 26, prior to thelaunching orfiring of the torpedo to a pre selected position which determines the torpedo course relative to the "pr'e-launch orientation of the torpedo. Servo motor 30 is adapted to be controlled from outside the torpedo. Erratic run cam 36 is fixedly mounted on frame 27. Cam 36 is more clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Cam 36 which is made of a suitable non-conduc tor, such-as plastic, is provided with a conducting segment 38, which in a preferred form is made of silver and extends over an arc of 20 degrees. Circular disc 40 is formed in the center of cam 36. Segment 38 is electrically connected to slip ring 42 and disc 40 is electrically connected to slip ring 44. Slip ring contacts 46, 48 are fixedly mounted on housing 14 by post 50 with con tact arm 46 engaging slip ring 44 and contact arm 48 engaging ring 42. r

Anti-circular run contact ring '52 is mounted on cylindrical disc 54. 'In a preferred form, ring 52 is made of silver and extends over an arc of 340. Disc '54 is made of a suitable insulating material such as plastic and is.

fixedly mounted on housing 14. Ring 52 is electrically connected to terminal 56. Ring 52, disc 40 and segment 38 all lie substantially in. the same plane, and disc 54 is concentric to cam 36.-

Anti-circular run gyro 12 may be identical in structure to coursegyro 10 and has a rotor 58, an inner gimbal 60 and an outer gimbal 62. Gyros 10 and 12 are mounted in housing 14 so that the outer gimbal axes of the two gyros are substantially coincident. Gyro 12 is provided with a conventional electrical motor for driving rotor 58 and conventional caging means, which motor and caging means have not been illustrated. Contact arms 64, 65 and 66 are fixedly mounted on outer gimbal 62 of gyro 12. Arms 64, 65 and 66 are electrically connected; Arm 64 is mounted to normally engage the anti-circular run contact ring 52, arm 65 is mounted to always engage conduct'or disc 40, and arm 66 is mounted to normally engage segment 38 of cam 36.

Fig. 4 is aschematic diagram of an electrical circuit for the protective device. Battery 68 is a source of electrical energy and can be, if the torpedo has an electrical propulsion motor, the source of energy for propulsion motor 70. Erratic run contacts 72, anti-circular run contacts 74, and coil 76 of a motor control relay are connected in series and have the potential of battery 68 applied thereacross when contacts 76a of relay 76 are closed as later indicated. Terminal 78 is connected to slip ring contact arm 48, and common terminal 80 of contacts 72 and 74 is connected to slip ring contact arm 46. Erratic run contacts 72 consist of segment 38 of cam 36 and contact arm 66. Anti-circular run contacts 74 consists of contact arm 64 and contact ring 52. Erratic run contacts 72 are shunted by fixed time delay contacts 82 which, as later indicated, are provided and arranged to remain closed for a short period following torpedo launch- Prior to the launching of the torpedo in which the protective device is; adapted'tdbe mounted; gyros; and 12 are caged and their motors energized tojbringthem up ,to thedesired speed. -When the gyrosrfar'e-caged, the axes of: rotation 'of rotors 16 and 58 aresubstantially parallel. If itis desired to'make 'anfangle;shot, that is, to' cause the torpedo. to steer a course in azimuth other than:a course-parallelto the direction of'the torpedo at the time it is launchcd, servo motor 30 is driven, before torpedo launching, by means of a conventional servo loop (not illustrated), to turn stator 26 in'proper sense to an angle equal to theditference between the orientation of the torpedo-at the time of launching and the desired course ;.:.'I'h'e1 e"are', therefore, twodifierent types of shots, one a straight shotin which the torpedo follows a course in azimuth corresponding to the orientation of the torpedo when the course gyro and the anti-circular run gyro are uncaged,1and,an angle shotas described above.

-' Whenfastraight shot is made, frame 27 is in normal orientation such that both contacts 72 and74 are closed in'centered positions as in Fig. 2. When the torpedois launched, gyros 10 and 12 are uncaged and motor control relay contacts 76a are closed by conventionalmeans (not shown), such as an auxiliary triggering circuitfor relay 76. Fixed time delaycontacts 82, which may be of conventional type, also close when the torpedo is launched and remain 'closed for a'fixed short period of time and then open. 'Ihe'function of contacts 82, essential for angle 's'hots, will be more fully explained later. When contacts 76a are closed, an electrical circuit is completed so that direct'current can flowthrough relay coil '76. The flow of current through coil 76 keeps the motor control relay contact 76a closed and the flow of electrical current through motor 70 provides power to propel the torpedo.

' If the torpedo should turn through an angle of more than 170 from its orientation when the anti-circular run gyro 12 is uncaged, contact arm 64 will no longer engage anti-circular 'rnn contact ring 52, which opens anti-circular run' contacts 74. When contacts 74 open, relay coil 76 is deenergized and the deenergizatio'n of coil 76 causes contacts 76a to open so that the battery 68 is no longer connected to" apply power to motor 70. When' the propulsion motor is no longer energized, the torpedo quickly stops, and since war shot torpedoes have negative buoyancy, the torpedo sinks and can'do no harm to the launch"- ing vesselj As an additional precaution, to prevent the torpedo from continuing 'in an erratic or ofi-course run which might lead to attack upon the vessel from which it is launched, anti-circular run gyro 12 is'provided with erratic run contact 72, comprising segment 38 and arm 66 as described, arranged to open for torpedo deviations greater than 10 relative to the-intended course as preselected by orientation adjustment of frame 27 carrying stator 26 and segment 38. Thus,"if for'any reason the erratic "run contacts'72 come to open-switch condition, after the fixed time delay contacts 82 have opened, relay shots while retaining the function of checking for excessive off-course drift of the torpedo, fixed time delay contacts 82 are used to shunt the contacts 72 for a fixed short period of time after launching, which period is sufficient for the azimuth steering means of the torpedo to turn the torpedo from its initial heading onto the new course. When the torpedois on thenew course, contact arm 66 will engage the center of segment 38 and contacts 72v will thus beclosed provided, of course, the anti-circular run gyro has not drifted. After the'torpedo has turned to the new course and after the fixed time'delay contacts 82 have opened, the operation of the protective device is the same as'when the torpedo makes a straight shot; i.e., if the torpedo turns more than 170 from its initial orientation'so that anti-circular "rim contacts 74 open, or if the torpedo drifts off-course more than 10 so that contacts 72 open, the motor control relay is deenergized"and terminates the torpedo runi After the torpedo has traveled a suflicient distanceaway from the launching vessel so there is no likelihood of its attacking the launching vessel, the protective devices may be disabled by conventional means (not illustrated),

- so the torpedo may changeoperation from its straighta battery.

line run-out phase to ensuing phases in which it may search for and attack a target. In describing the operation'of the invention it was as sumed' that the power supply for the propulsion motor is .The application of the invention is obviously not limited to use with such equipment, however, and other propulsion means can be similarly controlled.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is: e I 1. In a torpedo having propulsion means and a power 1 supply, the improvements comprising a relay having a relay coil for disconnecting the power supply from the propulsion means when the relay coil is deenergized, an anticircular run gyro, a course gyro, a housing, a source of electrical energy, the gyros each having an inner and an coil'76 will be deenergized to open contacts 76a and cut M off the flow of power to the propulsion motor of the torpedo, terminating the torpedo run;

When an' angle shot is to be made, servo motor 30 prior to launching will be energized to turn stator 26 and frame 27 through an angle corresponding to the angle 7 outer gimbal, both gyros being mounted in said housing so that their outer gimbal axes are substantially coincident, an anti-circular run contact ring extending over-an arc of a first given angular magnitude, said ring being fixedly mounted on said housing, an erratic run 'cam mounted on said housing, a conducting segment on-said cam and extending over an arc of a second given angular magnitude, contact arms fixedly mounted'on" the outer gimbal of the anti-circular run gyro, said anti-circular run contact ring, the conducting segment of the erratic run cam and the contact arms being so mounted that one 'contact arm will engage the anti-circular run contact ring to form anti-circular run contacts which remain closed so long'as the torpedo does not turn through an angle of more than half the angular extent of the anti-circularrun contact ring, and so the other contact arm will engage the conducting segment of the erratic run cam to form erratic run contacts which remain closed so long as the torpedo does not drift off-course in excess of one half the angular extent of the conducting segment of the erratic run-cam, and means for connecting the erratic run contacts,'the anti-circular run contacts and the coil of the relay in series with said source of electrical energy.

2. A torpedo as defined in claim 1 in which the angular extent of the anti-circular run contact ring is substantially 340 and the angular extent of the conducting segment of the erratic run cam is substantially 20. K a

3. In a torpedo having-electrical propulsion means'and "an electricalpower supply, in combination therewith, a housing, 'a course gyro, an anti-circular run gyro, said gyros each having an inner and an outer gimbal andbeing mounted in said housing so that'the outer gimbal axes of said gyrosare substantially in alignment, a synchro generator having rotor and stator members, said rotor member being mounted to turn with the outer gimbal of the course gyro, a servo motor, gear means, said servo motor and gear means adapted to initially orient the stator member of said synchro generator to any selected position relative to the outer gimbal of the course gyro, an erratic run cam having a conducting segment extending over substantially 20 of arc and arranged to be positioned in correspondence with said stator member, an anti-circular run contact ring fixedly mounted with respect to said housing and extending over substantially 340 of are, a contact member mounted on the outer gimbal of the anti-circular run gyro and having contact arms normally in sliding engagement with said segment and ring, a relay having a coil and contacts, a circuit consisting of the conducting segment, said contact arms, the anti-circular run contact ring and the coil of said relay connected in series with the power supply, said contact arms, anti-circular run contact ring, and erratic run cam segment being so mounted as to open the circuit and deenergize the relay coil if the torpedo turns through one-half the angular extent of the anti-circular run contact ring from its initial orientation at launching time, and to open said circuit if the torpedo runs off course by more than one-half the angular extent of the conducting segment of the erratic run cam, said relay contacts adapted to open when the relay coil is deenergized and arranged to disconnect the supply from the propulsion means of the torpedo.

4. In a torpedo having propulsion means, a propulsion control circuit including a relay and relay energizing source, and means becoming operative within a predetermined interval after launching to normally steer the torpedo substantially along a predetermined course relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, said relay when de-energized operating to disable said propulsion means, in combination therewith, gyroscopic means having a gimbal which automatically orients to positions corresponding to deviations of the torpedo from the pre-launch direction of the torpedo, a first normally-closed switch coupled to said gimbal and adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined course tolerance, a time-delay switch shunting said first switch, said time-delay switch being closed at launching and adapted to open at expiration of said predetermined interval, and a second normally-closed switch coupled to said gimbal and adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined circling magnitude relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, said first and second switches being connected in series with the relay and energizing source in said propulsion control circuit, whereby to disable said propulsion means within said predetermined interval in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined circling magnitude, and whereby to disable said propulsion means in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined course tolerance after said predetermined interval.

5. A protective device for use in a torpedo having propulsion means, a propulsion control circuit including a relay and relay energizing source, means becoming operative within a predetermined interval after launching to normally steer the torpedo substantially along a predetermined course relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, and a time-delay switch closed at launching and adapted to open at expiration of said interval, said relay when de-energized operating to disable said propulsion means, said protective device comprising gyroscopic means having a gimbal adapted to orient to positions corresponding to deviations of the torpedo from the pre-launch direction of the torpedo, a first normally-closed switch coupled to said gimbal and adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined course tolerance, and a second normally-closed switch coupled to said gimbal and adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined circling magnitude relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, whereby said first and second switches when connected in series with the relay and energizing source in said propulsion control circuit, with said first switch shunted by said time-delay switch, operate to disable said propulsion means within said predetermined interval in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined circling magnitude, and operate to disable said propulsion means in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined course tolerance after said predetermined interval.

6. In a torpedo having propulsion means, a propulsion control circuit including a relay and relay energizing source, directional control means becoming operative within a predetermined interval after launching to normally steer the torpedo substantially along a straight-line course, said directional control means including first gyroscopic means and pick-otf means operated thereby to sense deviations of the torpedo from said straight-line course, said pick-oil means haw'ng a member initially positionable to preselect the direction of said course relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, said relay when de-energized operating to disable said propulsion means, in combination therewith, second gyroscopic means having a gimbal which automatically orients to positions corresponding to deviations of the torpedo from the pre-launch direction of the torpedo, a first normally-closed switch having a pair of relatively displaceable members, one said displaceable member being coupled to said pick-off member for initial positioning therewith, the other said displaceable member being coupled to said gimbal for movement therewith, said first switch being adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined course tolerance, a time-delay switch shunting said first switch, said time-delay switch being closed at launching and adapted to open after said predetermined interval, and a second normally-closed switch coupled to said gimbal and adapted to open at gimbal orientations corresponding to torpedo deviations exceeding a predetermined circling magnitude relative to pre-launch direction of the torpedo, said first and second switches being connected in series with the relay and energizing source in said propulsion control circuit, whereby to disable said propulsion means within said predetermined interval in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined circling magnitude, and whereby to disable said propulsion means in the event of torpedo deviation in excess of said predetermined course tolerance after said predetermined interval.

No references cited. 

